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Diversity Of Vascular Plants And Intensity Of Plant Collecting In Nebraska, Robert B. Kaul, Steven B. Rolfsmeier

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

A computerized database of Nebraska's flora has been made from specimens in 20 herbaria. Almost 1,900 species of native and escaped-alien vascular plants have been collected in the state since the mid-1800s. The flora of some counties is very well known but that of many counties, especially southwestern and Sandhills counties, is poorly collected. More than 800 species (nearly 100% of the species that are likely to occur) have been collected from each of Cherry, Douglas, Lancaster, and Richardson counties, but fewer than 150 species are known from Fillmore and McPherson counties, less than 25% of the potential number species …

Trade, Contact, And Female Health In Northeast Nebraska, Karl Reinhard, Larry Tieszen, Karin L. Sandness, Lynae M. Beiningen, Elizabeth Miller, A. Mohammad Ghazi, Christiana E. Miewald, Sandra V. Barnum

Karl Reinhard Publications

Most scholars are understandably preoccupied with the impact of Europeans on native peoples who were passive, unwilling, or resistant participants in that contact. We present in this chapter a different case. The Missouri River tribes, including the Omaha and Ponca, willingly engaged in relations with Euramericans, especially in the fur trade that dominated interaction in this region. The time frame for this study is 1780- 1820, a period when interaction between individual traders and Native Americans was replaced by the dominance of the American Fur Company in organized exploitation of the Missouri River lands and peoples. This involvement later contributed …

Sanitation And Parasitism At Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Karl J. Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

One focus of historical archaeology at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia, is tracing the development of sanitation at the town through the 1800s and 1900s. Historical documentation indicates that there was a degree of resistance to the modernization of village sanitation. This study attempts to verify this resistance through examination of privy soils for parasites indicative of fecalborne disease, specifically the helminth species Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura. The presence of these parasites in the early 1900s would indicate that fecal-borne disease due to poor sanitation continued to be an aspect of town life. The analysis revealed the …

Otitis Media, Mastoiditis, And Infracranial Lesions In Two Plains Indian Children, Robert W. Mann, Douglas W. Owsley, Karl J. Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

One disease condition that is common to nearly all children is otitis media, also known as middle ear disease. Although most people speak of it as a middle ear "infection," other causes such as neoplasm (tumor) can result in manifestations and symptoms mimicking an infectious process. This paper presents findings related to osseous lesions in two Indian children, approximately three to five years of age, who died with otitis media and infracranial lesions. Through macroscopic and radiographic analysis, it is possible to show that one child probably suffered from tuberculosis and the other from histiocytosis X. From an epidemiological and …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 25. No. 4. December 1993

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Seabloom, Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

CONTENTS

FACTORS INFLUENCING DEER/VEHICLE MORTALITY IN EAST CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ J. S. Gleason and J. A. Jenks

PRONGHORN SKULL FOUND ALONG EDGE OF HISTORIC EASTERN DISTRIBUTION IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ W. F. Jensen and R. W. Seabloom

SOREX MERRIAMI IN NEBRASKA ▪ P. W. Freeman, J. D. Druecker, and S. Tvrz

ARE DEER MICE A COMMON PREY OF COYOTES? ▪ G. A. Kaufman, D. E. Brillhart, and D. W. Kaufman

EFFECT OF PRAIRIE-FIRE ASH ON FOOD CHOICE BY DEER MICE AND HISPID COTTON RATS …

Fifteen Years Of Colony Dynamics In Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis, The Western Harvester Ant, In Western Nebraska, Kathleen H. Keeler

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Ecological communities respond to environ- mental changes as the individuals of the component species die and are replaced. Thus, pat- terns of population turnover form an important aspect of community processes. Much less is known about species of long-lived individuals than of short-lived ones (Likens, 1989).

Instantaneous observations of age structure can be used to infer long-term dynamics but not all species can be aged retrospectively. Inferring life- history dynamics from current populations requires assumptions that are hard to verify. Following marked colonies of long-lived species is slow but provides direct, non-inferential data on population dynamics, although those are specific …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 25, No. 3 September 1993

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Seabloom, Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

CONTENTS

AVAILABILITY OF EARTHWORMS AND SCARAB BEETLES TO SANDHILL CRANES IN NATIVE GRASSLANDS ALONG THE PLATTE RIVER ▪ C. A. Davis and P. A. Vohs

BLACK TERN COLONIZATION OF A RESTORED PRAIRIE WETLAND IN NORTHWESTERN MINNESOTA ▪ D. J. Delehanty and W. D. Svedarsky

MOUNTAIN PLOVER HABITAT SELECTION IN THE POWDER RIVER BASIN, WYOMING ▪ T. L. Parrish, S. R. Anderson, and W. F. Oelklaus

POST-HATCH BROOD AMALGAMATION IN LESSER SCAUP: FEMALE BEHAVIOR AND RETURN RATES AND DUCKLING SURVIVAL ▪ A. D. Afton

STATUS AND …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 25. No. 2. June 1993

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Seabloom, Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

CONTENTS

RAPID GROWTH OF CHANNEL CATFISH IN FLAMING GORGE RESERVOIR, WYOMING ▪ C. B. Alexander and W. A. Hubert

MANAGEMENT EVALUATION OF BODY CONDITION AND POPULATION SIZE STRUCTURE FOR PADDLEFISH: A UNIQUE CASE ▪ M L. Brown and B. R. Murphy

DISTRIBUTION OF THE RIBBON LEECH IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ C. M. Pennuto and M. G. Butler

SELENIUM IN EARED GREBE EMBRYOS FROM STEWART LAKE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, NORTH DAKOTA ▪ M. M. Olson and D. Welsh

USING GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION TO PREDICT BREEDING LOCALES OF …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 25. No. 1. March 1993

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Seabloom, Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

CONTENTS

FACTORS AFFECTING BIRD COLONIZATION OF RESTORED WETLANDS ▪ L. M. Hemesath and J. J. Dinsmore

RESPONSE OF DABBLING DUCKS TO EARLY-SPRING PARTIAL DRAWDOWN ON LAKE ERIE MARSHES ▪ T. Z. Riley and T. A. Bookhout

OVER-WATER NESTING BY DUCKS IN NORTHEASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ . K. L. Solberg and K. F. Higgins

ADDITIONAL MOUNTAIN PLOVER SIGHTINGS IN MONTANA ▪ D. M. Prellwitz

SMALL MAMMALS OF WOODED HABITATS OF THE KONZA PRAIRIE RESEARCH NATURAL AREA, KANSAS ▪ D. W. Kaufman, G. A. Kaufman, and E. …

Geological Field Guide To The Cedar Point Biological Station, Keith County, Nebraska, Robert F. Diffendal Jr., Roger K. Pabian

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

This field guide was produced by staff members of the Conservation and Survey Division of the University of Nebraska originally in 1979 at the request of Dr. Brent Nickol, former Director of the Cedar Point Biological Station. It is an introduction to the geologic history and paleoecology of the Cedar Point area intended for students, staff, and other persons using the camp. This revision has been made some 15 years after the first version to reflect changes in ideas resulting from new data collected during that time.

Users of this guide should take care when studying the rock exposures described …

Nebraska Butterflies, Stephen M. Spomer

University of Nebraska State Museum: Staff and Affiliates, Publications

Nebraska is a crossroads of butterfly diversity. Many species reach their distributional limits in Nebraska. The 100th meridian, which runs through central Nebraska, appears to be a good distributional limit for many species. In short, eastern Nebraska contains butterflies similar or identical to those found in most of the eastern United States, central Nebraska has both eastern and western butterflies, and western Nebraska has a butterfly fauna more like the Rocky Mountains or Black Hills. Over 200 species of butterflies have been recorded in Nebraska, which is a higher number than most of our neighboring states. Some of our butterflies …

How Does Variation In Plant Resources Affect Herbivore Dynamics?: Review Of Hunter Et Al., Effects Of Resource Distribution On Animal-Plant Interactions, Svata M. Louda

Svata M. Louda Publications

The book by Hunter et al. has two aims. The first is to focus more attention on the role of variation in resources, specifically plant resources, in the dynamics of herbivorous animals. The emphasis on plant variability in herbivore performance and dynamics, rather than on average patterns of plant resource availability, is timely. Emphasis to date has been on general patterns of resource use. However, knowledge of variation is required to predict outcomes of both ecological processes and evolutionary changes with environmental modification. Thus, I expect this book will be considered an important step on the road to such understanding. …

Effects Of Response Strategy And Retention Interval On Performance Of Clark’S Nutcrackers In A Radial Maze Analogue, Deborah J. Olson, Alan C. Kamil, Russell P. Balda

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

Two groups of Clark’s nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) were trained to use either a stay or shift response strategy in a radial maze analogue. Each trial had a preretention stage, a retention interval, and a postretention test. In Experiment 1, acquisition with a 5-min retention interval was studied. Response strategy did not affect the rate at which the task was learned. Performance following longer retention intervals was tested in Experiments 2-4. Changes in retention intervals were presented in trial blocks of increasing duration in Experiment 2 and were randomly presented between trials in Experiment 3. Experiment 4 extended the …

Do Worm Lizards Occur In Nebraska?, Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

Amphisbaenids, or worm lizards, are a small enigmatic suborder of reptiles (containing 4 families; ca. 140 species) within the order Squamata, which include~ the more speciose lizards and snakes (Gans 1986). The name amphisbaenia is derived from the mythical Amphisbaena (Topsell 1608; Aldrovandi 1640), a two-headed beast (one head at each end), whose fantastical description may have been based, in part, upon actual observations of living worm lizards (Druce 1910). While most are limbless and worm-like in appearance, members of the family Bipedidae (containing the single genus Bipes) have two forelimbs located close to the head. This trait, and …

Spiculopteragia Spiculoptera And S. Asymmetrica (Nematoda: Trichostrongyloidea) From Red Deer (Cervus Elaphus) In Texas, Lora G. Rickard, Eric P. Hoberg, Nancy M. Allen, Gary L. Zimmerman, Thomas M. Craig

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Specimens of Spiculopteragia spiculoptera and S. asymmetrica were recovered from the abomasa of five of ten naturally infected red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Texas (USA). Female specimens of Spiculopteragia were present in all five animals. Male specimens of S. spiculoptera and S. asymmetrica were present in one of five and three of five red deer, respectively. Spiculopteragia spiculoptera has not previously been recognized in the United States and the present report constitutes the first records of Spiculopteragia spp. in red deer from North America. It is likely that species of Spiculopteragia have been introduced to North America with …

Book Review Of Parascript: Parasites And The Language Of Evolution By D. R. Brooks And D. A. Mclennan, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 1993., Eric P. Hoberg

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Review of Parascript: Parasites and the Language of Evolution by Daniel R. Brooks and Deborah A. McLennan, with bibliographical references.

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 24, No.4 December 1992

The Prairie Naturalist

NEW VASCULAR PLANT RECORDS FOR NORTIl DAKOTA ▪ B. L. Heidel, A. J. Duxbury, W.T. Barker, and J. R. Challey

GROWTH OF BLUEGILLS AND YELLOW PERCH IN SOUTH DAKOTA WATERS ▪ D.w. Willis, J.P. Lott, C.S. Guy, and D.O. Lucchesi

SEASONAL VARIATION IN SAMPLING DATA FOR WALLEYE AND SAUGER COLLECTED WITH GILL NETS FROM LAKE SAKAKAWEA, NORTH DAKOTA ▪ S.W. Mero andD.W. Willis

OBSERVATIONS ON NESTING OF THE AMERICAN BITTERN IN NORTIlWEST MINNESOTA ▪ W D. Svedarsky

FOOD HABITS OF MOURNING DOVES IN EAST CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ J.T. Van't Hul and J.A. Jenks

DISTRIBUTION OF TIlE PYGMY SHREW IN …

Larids, Scolopacids, And Passerines Exploiting Ephemeral Prey At Talan Island, Russia, Eric P. Hoberg, Alexander I. Kondratiev, Alexander S. Kitaysky

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

We report an unusual multispecies foraging assemblage that included larids, shorebirds and passerines which exploited a highly concentrated and ephemeral prey source over a period of three days in July and August 1988. During studies of breeding biology, food-habits and host-parasite ecology among a diverse colonial avifauna at Talan Island in the northern Sea of Okhotsk (59°18'N; 149°02'E) we observed the formation of mixed-species flocks during extreme high tides of July 31, August 1, and August 13, 1988.

Population Estimates Of Kea In Arthur's Pass National Park, Alan B. Bond, Judy Diamond

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

The population dynamics of a local group of Kea (Nestor notabilis) was studied at a refuse dump in Arthur's Pass National Park over the course of three successive summers. The mean number of buds that foraged at the dump during the summer was estimated as 20 juveniles, 10 subadults, and 36 adults. An average of 11% of these birds were females. The number of adults was quite stable across years. The total population of Kea in this area was estimated to be between 88 and 119, or in the order of 0.018 to 0.040 buds per hectare. Mortality …

Aggressive Motivation In The Midas Cichlid: Evidence For Behavioral Efference, Alan B. Bond

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

Behavioral Efference is a hypothetical positive feedback from the performance of an aggressive display that augments the level of aggressive motivation. The hypothesis was proposed (Bond, 1989) to account for the occurrence of truthful communication during aggressive encounters, even in the face of a presumed selective pressure in favor of deceit (Maynard Smith, 1984). Evidence of Behavioral Efference was sought in an experimental study of adult Midas cichlids Cichlasoma citrinellum, in which subjects responded aggressively to varying sizes of dummy fish. Before and after each aggression trial, the level of aggressive motivation was estimated from the intensity of the subject’s …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 24, No.3 September 1992

The Prairie Naturalist

VESICULAR-ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAE IN BLOWOUT PENSTEMON ▪ T. R. Flessner and J. Stubbendieck

STATUS OF HAPLOPAPPUS FREMONTII A. GRAY SSP. MONOCEPHALUS (A. NELSON) HALL [ASTERACEAE] IN COLORADO ▪ K.A. Schulz and R.B. Shaw

HABITAT CHANGES ABOVE AND BELOW WATER PROJECTS ON THE NORTH PLATTE AND SOUTH PLATTE RIVERS IN NEBRASKA ▪ P. M. McDonald and J.G. Sidle

INSECT FLORAL VISITORS TO FOUR SPECIES OF TALL-GRASS PRAIRIE COMPOSITE (ASTERACEAE: HELIANTHEAE) ▪ J. A. Dickinson and M. J. McKone

SUMMER BIRD USE OF KANSAS WINDBREAKS ▪ T.T. Cable, R.L. Schroeder, V. Brack, Jr., and P.S. Cook

RING-NECKED PHEASANTS AND FOOD PLOT SIZE (GALLIFORMES: …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 24. No.2 June 1992

The Prairie Naturalist

FIRST FLOWERING DATES AND FLOWERING PERIODS OF PRAIRIE PLANTS AT WOODWORTH. NORTH DAKOTA ▪ J. M. Callow, J A. Kanlrud, and K.F. Higgins

PROBABLE DISTRIBUTION OF THE WOODCHUCK IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS ▪ J.R. Choate and T. W. Haner

NEST AND NEST SITE CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME GROUND-NESTING NON-PASSERINE BIRDS OF NORTHERN GRASSLANDS ▪ H A. Kantrud and K.F. Higgins

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS FOR NORTH DAKOTA ▪ R.N. Randall

COMPARISON OF SIZE STRUCfURE AND CATCH RATE FOR LARGEMOUTH BASS SAMPLES COLLECTED BY ELECTROFlSHING AND ANGLING ▪ DJ. Isaak, T.D. Hill, and D.W. Willis

MULE DEER HABITAT USE IN THE NORTH DAKOTA …

Survey Of Mollusks Of The Platte River: Final Report, Patricia W. Freeman, Keith Perkins

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A survey of the mollusks of the Platte River was carried out during the summers of 1990 and 1991. With the exception of the Big Bend Reach of the River in Dawson, Buffalo and Hall counties, no unionids (mussels) were found in the main channel of the river. We found 11 species of mussels along the river and 16 species of snails at 49 different sites from east to west across the state. We found the Asiatic clam, a known, non-native, pest species, for the first time in the state placing it several hundred miles west of the present eastern …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 24, No.1 March 1992

The Prairie Naturalist

HABITAT CONSERVATION FOR NESTING LEAST TERNS AND PIPING PLOVERS ON THE PLATTE RIVER, NEBRASKA ▪ J. W. Ziewitz, J. G. Sidle, and J. J. Dinan

DIURNAL FLIGHT TIME OF WINTERING CANADA GEESE: CONSIDERATION OF REFUGES AND FLIGHT ENERGETICS ▪ J. E. Austin and D. D. Humburg

MYCOTOXIN OCCURRENCE IN WASTE FIELD CORN AND INGESTA OF WILD GEESE IN THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS ▪ K. F. Higgins, R. M. Barta, R. G. Neiger, G. E. Rottinghaus, and R. I. Sterry

NOTES

Cost of Nest Reuse by Western Kingbirds ▪ T. M. Bergin

A New Record for Falcate Spurge in the Midwest …

Status, Production And Migration Of Greater Sandhill Cranes On Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge, Minnesota, Jon J. Dimatteo

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) nesting at Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in northwestern Minnesota were studied from 20 April 1984 to 10 December 1985. Local birds were monitored to determine population size and age structure, reproductive success, and migration routes and wintering grounds. Forty-two pairs were identified. Thirty-four were breeding pairs and 3 were subadult (nonbreeding) pairs. Twenty nests were found; pairs at 13 of these hatched at least 1 young. Forty-three pairs hatched a minimum of 62 young, and 28 pairs fledged 42 of 47 young. Fifteen birds were colormarked, 8 of which were radio-tagged …

An Evaluation Of Three Areas For Potential Populations Of Whooping Cranes, Janet L. Mcmillen, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Mary A. Bishop, Alan J. Bennett, Laurel A. Bennett

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) populations were evaluated on the Seney NWR, Michigan, the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia, and in southcentral Florida to evaluate their suitability to support introduced whooping cranes (G. americana). This paper compares data collected at these sites and additional data collected in northcentral Florida. The length of the egg-laying period varied from 4.5 months in central Florida to 1 month at Seney, but egg-laying ceased at all sites from mid-May to early June. Mean clutch sizes were similar 0.7-1.9). Renesting ranged from 79% in northcentral Florida to <=5% at Seney. These dates and values are consistent with nesting successes that ranged from 48% in northcentral Florida to 80% at Seney. Average annual recruitment, 12.3 juveniles/lOa adults, was highest on the Kissimmee Prairie in southcentral Florida. Average annual horne range size for the non-migratory populations were 1 km2 on the Okefenokee and 6.6 km2 on the Kissimmee. Nesting season horne range sizes ranged from 0.5 km2 on the Okefenokee to 1.8 km2 at Seney. All candidate populations successfully satisfied most of the guidelines for potential whooping crane populations as established by the Whooping Crane Recovery Team. Once reintroduction techniques have been refined, any or all of the study sites have the capacity to accommodate a flock of whooping cranes commensurate with Whooping Crane Recovery Team recommendations.

A Microcomputer Data Base For Managing Whooping Crane Observation Records, Duane A. Asherin, David B. Hamilton, Wendy M. Brown, Roderick C. Drewien

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

A database called WHOOPER contains whooping crane (Grus americana) observations for the Rocky Mountain foster-parent population and currently consists of 1,438 observations covering the period 1975-1987. The dBase III Plus database management system for microcomputers is used for the application. This description of the data base and its capabilities updates the prototype database described in the 1985 Crane Workshop.

Unobstructed Visibility At Whooping Crane Roost Sites On The Platte River, Nebraska, Craig A. Faanes

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Unobstructed visibility is an important component of whooping crane (Grus americana) roosting habitat. Recent habitat modeling efforts suggest that unobstructed horizontal visibility is suitable at a minimum of 335 m. Unobstructed upstream and downstream visibility is also an important part of whooping crane roosting habitat, but quantification of that parameter has not been reported previously, or incorporated into species models. Data from the Platte River suggest that a minimum of 732 m of unobstructed upstream and downstream visibility is needed at whooping crane roost sites.

Crane Propagation At Miami Metro Zoo, 1983–1987, Carol G. Hesch

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Five species of cranes are bred at Miami Metrozoo. Few health problems have been encountered in raising a large number of chicks. Rearing cranes in close confinement, with limited resources, requires sound management and careful observation.

Sandhill Crane Surveys In The Northern Interior Highlands Of Mexico, Roderick C. Drewien, Wendy M. Brown, Elwood G. Bizeau

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Most sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) wintering in Mexico are found in the northern Interior Highlands of Chihuahua. We surveyed sandhill cranes in the states of Chihuahua and occasionally Durango, Mexico, in winters 1972-90. The population averaged 23,106 (SD = 10,369) in 11 counts at 5-6 areas in Chihuahua. Laguna de Babicora, the most important wetland for cranes wintering in Mexico, had the largest numbers (X = 16,012), followed by Ascension (x = 2,405) and Laguna de los Mexicanos (x = 1,468). All 3 migratory subspecies were present. The lesser subspecies (G. c. canadensis) comprised 85.7% of …